Valved water softener



Feb. .14, 1939. E. PICK 4 VALVED WATER SOF'I'ENER Filed May 31, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb.'14, 19 39." 5 m 2,146,983

vALvEn WATER SOFTENER Filed May 51, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 REI'J LL to make a thoroughly satisfactory valve.

Patented Feb. 14,1939

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VALVED WATER SOFTENER Application May 31, 1932, Serial No. 614,551

10 Claims. (01. 210-24) This invention relates to valved water softeners; and it comprises a water softener having a multiple valve of the disk type allowing .the per formance in series of a plurality of phases of operation and having a plurality of passages therethrough, whereinsuch valve is provided with two members having correlated and coacting disk surfaces and beihgshiftable with respect to each other, the material/,of atleast one of the two members being of the nature of hard rubber; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

As is well known, water softening apparatus using zeolites and similar minerals work in a number of successive phases. With down flow softening, after the zeolites are exhausted, they are regenerated by a flow of salt water, this being either up or down, the spent-brine being sent towaste. Sometimes, the final portions of brine going through are saved; going to a different conduit from the rest of the brine and used in the first stage of another regeneration. Afterwards, the salt water is rinsed out. In addition to the regenerating operation there is generally a backwashing to loosen the bed, detach dirt and slime and reclassify the granules according to size, with the finer at the top and the coarser 'at the bottom. After regeneration the apparatus is ready to soften hard water again. With upflow softening, the routine is much the same, save that the backwashing phase does not occur and the necessities for the regulation of rate of flow in other phases are somewhatmore exacting. With either type of softening, the minimum number of valved fiow passages is about five; and more are often used. Using separate valves, the multiplicity of valves to be opened and closed in a certain order,

is confusing to the unskilled user; and with the greatest of skill, mistakes will be made.

single valve with multiple ports and passages, this valve being connected to all of the supply lines and discharge lines. It ispossible. to design a single multi-port control valve with a "single movable valve memberadapted in various positions to establish successively the various combinations of connections, but. great difiiculties have been encountered in practice in attempting Of necessity, pressure requirements in the different Incidentally, the maze of pipe fittings and valves is ports are different and a given channel through a valve member may be used in several operathe main difiiculties is the fact that the valve must display extraordinary tightness against leakage in all positions, must be positive in its on and off service positions and must, nevertheless, be adapted to allow passage of a moderate amount of dirt or mineral matter. In backwashing, a certain amount of mud usually passes through the valve and clear water is not always obtained after backwashing. In upflow operation and in backwashing in downfiow operation, there is often a certain amount of flotation and loss of zeolite particles which pass away through the valve. I

The water treated practically always contains dissolved oxygen and is frequently somewhat acid, if only with dissolved CO2. Any corrosion, with the nice adjustment required by operating conditions, is apt to make valved members stick or freeze and may cause interport' leakage. Scoring by mineral matter is also the source of much difliculty. In order to be at all satisfactory, metall valve parts must be machined to a high degree of accuracy. The tolerance permissible in machining other types of valves for ordinary purposes is considerably greater than can be here allowed.

Because of corrosion difiicultieait is usual to make these multi-port valves of bronze or brass.

It is not consistent with satisfactory operation to use steel in combination with bronze for the coacting stationary and movable parts, because of the possibility of galvanic corrosion, particu- &

larly in the brine'fiow phase. I have found that valves having both port plate and rotating disk made entirely of hard rubber are particularly advantageous since they are cheap to manufacture, wear well and are non-corrosive.

Quite satisfactory valves adapted to the exacting requirements of a water softener can be constructed by making one of the co-acting elements of vulcanized hard rubber and the other of bronze or both ported and'channelled elements may be made of vulcanized hard rubber, one being backedby a rigid metallic member. With one element rubber and the other bronze, the latter gives rigidity, but with both of hard rubber,'an accessory metal stiffening plate is desirable with one but not both plates. Such a plate however is cheaper than a machined valve element.

In either way, I find that a multi-port valve can be made which is simple and inexpensive in construction, requires little machining, is not liable to stick or become leaky and is positive 'in its action, with no interport leakage. k

Hard rubber is fully resistant to the corrosive action of water and brine. Furthermore, water is a lubricant for rubber and water is automatically applied to the surfaces requiring lubrica-' tion during use, thereby providing a low coemcient of friction for such surfaces. A further re duction of friction can be obtained by providing additional lubrication. Liquid oils are not suitable for this purpose, and are, furthermore apt to cause rotting of the rubber, but certain heavy greases give good results; greases such as those known as bearing journal compounds. There can be used mutton tallow to which a preservative has been added, such as 1 to 2 per cent of sodium benzoate, in order to prevent decomposition. Due to the ever present lubrication by water and the corrosion resistance of hard rubber, no sticking or freezing together of the stationary and movable valve parts can occur. Hard rubber is flexible, or rather, bendable, to some extent and in the course of time it may become set or permanently deform d under continuing stress and this, while a nuis ce in some relations, is convenient here, since it prevents interport leakage. In the operation of valves employing two members with flat cooperating faces, one of which members is rotatable, the relative movement of the two members increases from zero at the center of rotation to a maximum value at the periphery. Consequently, the wear is likewise greater near the periphery. Taking, for example; a rotary valve disk of 6 inches radius, the wear at the periphery is 6 times greater than at a point, 1 inch from the center. .Such' uneven wear tends to make the cooperating faces'convex. In the case of valves having rigid metallic, members it has actually been found that the members did become convex in shape in the course of use, thereby causing interport leakage, although as originally made. the members had been truly flat and the valve had been found tight upon 7 initial use. Withflat co-acting members, one or both made of hard rubber, however, and with a force such as a spring or water pressure appliedperpendicularly to the members, any accidental leakage way between ports tends to become closed and remain closed in spite of greater wear at the periphery. I have also found that the use of hard rubbergreatly reduces the possibility of hard foreign matter, such as mineral granules, entering in between the co-acting flat surfaces and scoring them. I 1

In practice, I find it desirable to provide a valve casing made of cast iron, brass or aluminum alloy.- Secured to this valve casing is a plateshaped member with. holes therein forming ports andconnecting with passages in the valve casing.

Fitted against this port. plate but movable with respect thereto is another plate with channels or passages adapted to establish various fiowcombinationsthrough the valve ports with various positions of the movable plate. The valve casing.

together with a cover for it, forms a chamber in which the two plates are located. A stem connected with the movable plate for operation thereof extends through a stuiflng gland to the ou ide.

pla or both are made of hard rubber, and the Either the port plate or the movable.

other plate may be made of a metal advantageously a copper alloy of high hardness, such as phosphor bronze. The presure of the incoming water to which can be added the force of a spring, is utilized to press the two plates firmly against each other so that, due to the flexibility or the hard rubber, perfect alignment of the two plates is initially obtained and maintained during use, and interport leakage is eliminated. It is to be noted that, while a certain flexibility and deformability, such as that possessed byhard rubber, is desirable and necessary to secure this improve- .ment, the amount of deformability permissible is limited. And as stated one member should be stiff or stiffened. Relatively soft materials, such as soft rubber or ordinary composition materials used for gaskets and similar purposes, are inapplicable here.

Hard rubber can be molded readily into plates with the required shape, provided with suitable passages or channels therein; the molded shape being afterwards machined if this is regarded as necessary. Where machining of a molded article is practiced it is'usually of only one side. I find it advantageous to finish the hard rubber contact faces by a machining operation in which a hard cutting tool is used. For this the metal known in the trade as Carboloy" is advantageous. Grinding with the use of an abrasive or "bufling compounds is not satisfactory, hard granules sometimes'becoming embedded in the rubber and inju'ring valve faces in operation, scoring and damaging the contact faces.

In machining, reasonable care should be exercised, but great accuracy is not necessary. Ab-

solute and complete flatness, which is difficult to,

the plates together, that a small amount of leak-- age existing with a water pressure of about 5 pounds per square inch was completely obviated when the. pressure was 'raised to the value of about 50 pounds per square inch; a pressure usually existing in water supply systems.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown, more or less diagrammatically, certain apparatus within the scope of the present invention. In this showing:

Fig. 1 is a view, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation, of a water softening apparatus and brine tank connected therewith and with the improved multi-way valve of the present invention positioned on top of the water softener;

Fig. 2 is a detail vertical section taken along line 2-2 at Fig. 4 showing the relative positions and methods of supporting a port plate and rotating disk in the body of the valve;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section line 9-3 of Fig. 6; and

taken along Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are horizontal sections taken along line A-A of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows and showing a valve disk in softening, backwashing and regenerating positions respectively.

Referring to the drawings, a water softeningmit charging the softening chamber with zeolite. Opening 6 is adapted to receive a pipe I extending to the bottom of the softener, the connection being best made by means of stufllng gland 8. To the casing head 4 is attached a multi-way rotary slide valve designated as a whole by 9 and secured to the casing head by means of screws 10, the joint being made with gasket ll. valve 9 are a port plate 24 made of bronze or hard rubber and a rotatable hard rubber disk 23 adapted to seat on the port plate and provided with channels for connecting difierent combinations of ports as will be more fully described. In the casing of the valve below the port plate are ports as follows: to the top of the zeolite chamber 5, to the bottom of the zeolite chamber 6, to hard water supply I2, to soft water service l3, to brine line M, to brine tank refill pipe l5 and to waste line IS, the waste line being provided with a valve l1. As shown the brine line H runs from the bottom of the brine tank I8 and refill pipe l5 runs to the top of the brine tank. Brine line I4 is provided with a float valve I9 having fioat 20 adapted to close the brine line when the liquid level in tank l8 drops to a predetermined extent. Refill pipe l5 has a float controlled valve 2| with float 22, adapted to close the refill pipe when the liquid level in the tank rises to a predetermined extent; .These ports all have openings into the bottom of the chamber containing the hard rubber valvedisk 23. Port plate 24 and gasket 26 are placed between the disk and the port openings, the port plate having holes therein communicating with the port openings. The port plate is held against rotation relative to the body of the valve by means of pins 25. Valve disk 23 may be held against the port plate and the port plate in turn held against the body of the valve by means of the pressure of the incoming hard water. This is accomplished by providing hard water inlet l2 with a connection 21 through the body of the valve to the space 28 above the valve disk. In addition to or instead of using the pressure of the water to keepthe disk seated a flat spring 29 and metal disk 23a may be interposed between the disk and the top of the valve casing. Valve disk 23 is rotated by means of .a hollow stem 30 plugged at its upper end as at 3| and fitting at its lower end into a square notch 32 in the center of this disk. Valve stem 30 extends upwardly from the disk through a packing gland 32 in the valve casing tmreceive a hand wheel 33 for turning the valve. The bottom of hard rubber valve disk 23 is formed with arcuate channels 34 and 35, which extend around the disk on opposite sides and communicate with 'diiferent port plate open-. ings as the valve is turned to difierent positions.

The bottom of the disk is also provided with a short channel 36 extending from the axis at an angle such that the channel communicates with the refill port opening when the valve is in softening position and with the soft water port opening when the valve is in regenerating position. An injector nozzle 31 is formed in port plate 24 directly under the axis of the plug and communicates at all times with channel 36. Injector nozzle 31 discharges axially downward into injector brine inlet 38 formed in the body of the valve and communicating with injector discharge passage 39 running through the fitting 40 and discharging into the top of the zeolite chamber. -Fitting 40 nearly closes opening 5 in the flange 4 so as to discharge the water to be softened into the zeolite Broadly the main elements of the channel 36 to injector nozzle 31.

bed-in the form of a circular spray. Short channel 4|, also formed in the bottom of valve disk 23 close to channel 36, is' arranged to connect in the regenerating position the plate opening of brine port H with the plate opening of brine inlet 38, (Fig. 6). Should nozzle 31 become stopped up with foreign matter it is only necessary to remove plug 31 at the top of valve stem 30 and insert a wire through the stem into the nozzle to reopen the same.

The operation of the valve is as follows: The valve is adapted to be turned through angles by hand wheel 33 to successively connect the ports for softening, backwashing and regenerating. In the regenerating position (Fig. 6) the hard water flows with by-pass to service, via channel 34, the soft water port openings and The flow. through the injector draws brine through inlet 38, channel 4| and brine port l4 and the injector flow is discharged through passage 39' and Opening 5 into the top of the zeolite chamber. First spent brine in an amount determined by the action of float 20 and then rinse water runs to waste from the bottom of the chamber through pipe I, botthe softening phase the brine tank is refilled, the

refill water flowing from the top of the soften.- ing chamber, cleaning out the injector and going by channel 36 and refill port 5 to the top of the brine tank l8. Backwashing (Fig. 5) is via channel 35 (with by-pass to service), bottom port 6 and pipe I to the bottom of the zeolite chamber, upwardly through the zeolite bed and out of the chamber via openings 5 and port 5', then through channel 34 and port 16 to waste.

This rotary multi-way valve is particularly adapted for use in operating a zeolite water softening system, but it may be used with slight necessary modifications in liquid treating processes generally for instance filtering. Operation of a water treating apparatus equipped with this rotaryvalve directly attached to the treating tank as above described is simple, convenient and fool proof.

In the drawings the valve arrangement is shown mounted atop the cylinder and this is regarded as the best form since it enables the use of simple, cylindrical, unperforated tanks. The valve arrangement can, however, be equally well applied to the side of a tank, the tank being perforated and threaded for that purpose.

What I claim is:

1. In a water softener adapted to contain a bed of granular zeolites and provided with the usual connections for raw water, for softened water, for the introduction of regenerating solutions and for the removal of regenerating solutions and wash water, a single multiway rotary slide valve commontosaid connections and provided with two cooperating members having flat faces and with means adapted to press the fiat faces together, one of said members arranged to be rotated upon the other, the members being provided with ports and passages adapted upon said the operation of the softener, one of said coop-' crating, members being of metal not corroded by saline solutions and the other of vulcanized hard rubber.

2. In a water softener adaptedto contain a bed of granular zeolites and provided with the usual connections for raw water, for softened water, for the introduction of regenerating solutions and for the removal of regenerating solutions and wash water, a single multiway rotary slide valve common to said connections and provided with two cooperating members having flat faces and with means adapted to press the flat faces together, one of said members arranged to be rotated upon the other, the members being providmetallic casing, a port plate positioned in said casing, a plurality of ports in said port plate, a hard water inlet port adapted for connection with a source of hard water under pressure, a circular, hard rubber, rotatable valve disk having a flat face, the disk being disposed on the port plate with its fiat face in contact therewith and having channels therein adapted to connect .the ports in the port plate successively during rotation of the disk to control the operation of the softener, and means comprising a space above the disk in communication with the hard water inlet port for utilizing the pressure of the water a to keep the disk tightly seated on the port plate and to minimize leakage between the plate ports.

4. In a watter softener containing a bed of zeolites and provided with connections for raw water, softened water, regenerating solutions and waste, a multiway valve common to said connections and provided with a hard rubber rotor and a ported metal stator having flat engaging. surfaces, the'flat face of the-rotor being pressed against the stator with a pressure at least equal to the pressure of the raw water so that the rotor is forced against-the stator ports and slightlydeformed forming a tight seal lubricated'by the water in all valve positions.

5. In a regenerative base exchange water softener adapted to contain a bed of gramilar zeolites and provided with the usual connections for raw water, for softened water, for the introduction of regenerating solutions and for the removal of regenerating solutions andwash water, a single multiport valve common to said connections and controlling the several flows in-an operative cycle, said valve comprising a stator member and a rotor member having mutually rotatable cooperating faces, the members being pro vided with ports and passages adapted upon rotation of the rotor member to make the proper connections for the operative cycle, at least one of said members being molded of vulcanized electrically nonconductive hard rubber providing a low coeflicient of friction for the cooperative faces when lubricated by water and being capable of deformation under moderate pressure to compensate for rotational wear of said member, and means in the valve adapted to press said coopcrating faces together so as to effect said deformation and to form between the rotor and the preventing interport leakage.

6. In a water softening apparatus having a container for zeolites, a source of brine, and suitable pipe connections to a source of raw water,

a service line and waste, a self-lubricating .rotary valve adapted to control the flows through the pipe connections and to make proper connections for operations of softening and regenerating, the valve comprising a fiat faced stator having ports and passages and a coacting rotor disk having corresponding ports and passages in its face, the face of the disk being pressed against the face of the stator with a continuously maintained film of water between, and rotatable with respect to the stator, menace of the rotor disk adjacent the stator being of hard rubber.

'7. In a regenerative base exchange water softener adapted to contain a bed of granular zeolites and provided with the usual connections for raw water, for softened-waterf for the introduction of regenerating solutions and for the removal of regenerating solutions and wash water, a multiport rotary slide valve so placed as to control stator a tight seal lubricated by the water and the several flows through said connections, said valve comprising two cooperating members having engaging fiat faces, one of said members be-- ing arranged to be rotated upon the other,.the members being provided with ports and passages adapted upon said rotation to make said several connections, one ,of said members 'being of vulcanized hard rubber, and means in the valve adapted to press said faces together so as to effect deformation to an extent sufficient to compensate for wear of said hard rubber under rotation and to form a tight seal lubricated by the water and preventing interport leakage.

8. In a regenerative base exchange water softener adapted to contain a bed of granular zeolites and provided with the usual connections for raw water, for softened water, for the introduction of regenerating solutions and for the removal of regenerating solutions and wash water, a multiport rotary slide valve so placed as to control the several flows through said connections, said valve comprising two cooperating members having engaging flat faces, one of said members being arranged to be rotated upon the other, the members being provided with ports and passages adapted upon said rotation to make said several connections, one of said members being of metal not corroded by saline solutions and the other of vulcanized hard rubber, and means in the valveadapted to press said faces together so as to effect deformation to an extent suflicient to compensate for wear of said hard rubber under rotation and to form a tight seal lubricated by the water and preventing interport leakage.

9. In a regenerative base exchange water softener adapted to contain a bed of granular zeolites the several flows through said connections, said adapted upon said rotation tomake said several connections, said cooperating members being of vulcanized hard rubber, and a metallic supporting element'for one of the two members, and

means in the valve adapted to press said faces together so as to effect deformation to an extent sufncient to compensate for wear of said hard rubber under rotation and to form-a tight seal preventing latera service line and waste, a self-lubricating rotary valve adapted to control the flows through the pipe connections and to make proper connections for operations of softening and regenerating, the valve comprising a flat faced stator hav ing ports and passages and a coacting rotor disk having corresponding ports and passages in its 5 face, the face of the disk being pressed against the face of the stator with a continuously mamtained film of water between, and rotatable with respect to the stator, theface of the stator being of hard rubber. v ERIC PICK J 

